Sauces and Dressings
Romesco Sauce
Makes 2 cups
Romesco Sauce
Makes 2 cups
You can thank Spain for this smoky, robust sauce. Delicious with grilled meat and fish,
but heaping it atop roasted cauliflower steaks comes highly recommended.
Nutritional information per serving (¼ cup):Calories 195 (18% from fat)
carb. 7g
pro. 3g
fat 18g
sat. fat 2g
chol. 0mg
sod. 75mg
calc. 33mg
fiber 2g
carb. 7g
pro. 3g
fat 18g
sat. fat 2g
chol. 0mg
sod. 75mg
calc. 33mg
fiber 2g
Ingredients
- 1dried ancho chile pepper, rinsed, stemmed, and seeded
- 1½-inch slice sourdough or country-style bread (roughly 2 ounces)
- 1large red bell pepper, stemmed
- 1large ripe tomato, or 2 plum tomatoes, cored
- ½cup whole, raw almonds, blanched (see Tip)
- 1large garlic clove, peeled
- 1teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- ½teaspoon kosher salt
- 2tablespoons sherry vinegar
- ¼cup loosely packed parsley leaves
- ½cup extra virgin olive oil
Preparation
- 1. Place the ancho chile in a bowl and cover with hot water. Let soak for 15 minutes,
- until softened.
- 2. Meanwhile, preheat the broiler on high with a rack positioned in the upper third
- of the oven. Place the slice of bread onto the rack and broil 2 to 3 minutes on
- each side, using tongs to flip, until toasted. Remove crust and tear into 1-inch
- pieces; reserve.
- 3. Place the pepper and tomato (or tomatoes) on a sheet tray and broil, rotating
- frequently with the tongs, until evenly blackened and blistered on all sides.
- Place charred tomato and pepper in a bowl; cover with plastic wrap and set
- aside for 10 minutes. The steam will help to loosen the skins.
- 4. Turn off the broiler and preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the almonds on the sheet
- pan and toast in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until just fragrant.
- 5. When the bell pepper and tomato are cool enough to handle, peel away skins.
- Slice the pepper to remove core and seeds. Use a knife to roughly chop the tomato
- and bell pepper, set aside. Then use the knife to gently scrape the softened flesh
- of the ancho chile from its papery skin; discard skin.
- 6. Put the garlic clove in the work bowl. Run on Chop continuously to finely chop,
- about 5 seconds. Add the almonds and pulse on Chop to start processing, about 10
- to 12 pulses. Add the reserved bell pepper, tomato, ancho chile, and toasted bread,
- and continue to pulse on Chop until mostly incorporated.
- 7. Scrape down the bowl and add the paprika, crushed red pepper, salt, vinegar
- and parsley leaves. With the machine running, add the olive oil in a steady stream.
- Scrape down the bowl. Run on Grind continuously until desired consistency is
- achieved. The final sauce should have some remaining texture from the almonds.
- 8. Taste and adjust seasoning and/or acidity, if needed. Serve as desired.
- Tip: If you cannot find blanched almonds, you can easily blanch your own. Place whole
- almonds (with skins) in a bowl, cover with boiling water and let stand for 1 minute.
- Drain almonds and immediately rinse under cold water. Gently squeeze almonds to loosen and slip off skins.